Welder

“ The workers' eyes are protected by black goggles, their hair confined by caps or handkerchiefs, and overalls or leather-aprons protect their clothes from the sparks and also from the smuts which naturally accrue on surrounding objects. Each welder holds in her right hand the blow-pipe of the craft, from which depends two long flexible tubes, one conducting oxygen from the tall cylinder in the corner, and the other acetylene from the generator. ”

“ An experienced welder will always know just what kind of a flame action he is obtaining on his weld, not because he takes the flame away every time he wishes to look at it, but he can tell by the action of his metal exactly the nature of his flame. ”

“ If now, under the test that is applied to prove this strength—a test which will be explained fully in the sequel—the work gives way, and if, on examination of the rent, it proves to have been caused by imperfection in the welding, and not by any original defect in the iron, the welder, according to the general principle which governs in this respect all the operations of the establishment, would have to lose not only the value of his own labor, in welding the barrel, but that of all the other operations which had been performed upon it, and which were rendered worthless by his agency. ”

“ The torches for welding and cutting form a class of highly developed instruments of the greatest accuracy in manufacture, and must be thoroughly understood by the welder. Tables, stands and special supports are provided for holding the work while being welded, and in order to handle the various metals and allow for their peculiarities while heated use is made of ovens and torches for preheating. ”

“ The theory of having a planed metal top for lining up work does not prove as satisfactory in actual practice as might be expected, for the simple reason that the average welder generally places his metal in direct contact with this cold top, and much of the heat which is supposed to go into the weld is conducted away by the table top, producing a hard, brittle weld. ”

“ But that chance is provided for, as far as human judgment can do, in entrusting such barrels only to first-rate and steady workmen. [223] Such men are no doubt, to a certain extent, scarce; but they may yet be found: the Birmingham welder of proved skill and ability is inferior to none in the world. Laminated steel barrels are more scarce than welders. ”

“ It is done on a spot welder by fusing the metal at the point desired and at the same instant applying sufficient pressure to force the particles of molten metal together. The dies are usually placed one above the other so that the work may rest on the lower one while the upper one is brought down on top of the upper sheet to be welded. ”

“ He had enormous and poetic admiration, though very little understanding, of all mechanical devices. They were his symbols of truth and beauty. Regarding each new intricate mechanism—metal lathe, two-jet carburetor, machine gun, oxyacetylene welder—he learned one good realistic-sounding phrase, and used it over and over, with a delightful feeling of being technical and initiated. ”

“ Brendan turned and played the welder's flame in the distorted faces nearest him. Sally got the door open, and he threw her beyond it. They forced it shut again behind them, and this time his weld was more careful but that was broken, too, before they were through the next compartment, and now there would be people in the parallel corridors, racing to cut them off—racing, and howling. The animals outside must be hearing it ... must be wondering....
He turned the two of them into a side corridor, and did not stop to use the welder. The mob might bypass an open door ... ”

“ Generally there are some strains left in every cylinder block of this nature. If the water in the water-jacket freezes or some other force comes in contact with the thin castings which constitute a block, the metal will give way at its weakest point, and the welder is usually called upon to repair it. At times these cracks are exceedingly small and the temptation is to braze or attempt to weld the small portions. ”

“ Hardened steel may be softened and annealed so that it can be machined by connecting the dies of the welder to each side of the point to be softened. The current is then applied until the work has reached a point at which it will soften when cooled. ”

“ I'm a spot welder and one job I had to do about every six weeks was make six welds on a geedunk we called a "manhole cover." We didn't know what they were, except that they were something special for the Signal Corps, and they looked about as much like manhole covers as anything else.
Well, the way the work is supposed to be scheduled, my welding job is the first thing after it comes off the presses, just before the little coils are put in. So the foreman comes over to me one night—it was October 10, the last day of the World Series—and shows me one of the covers after it's been wired up. ”

“ The importance of seeing that things of this nature are machined correctly should not require mention, but it has often been found that machinists are very careless about finishing this kind of work and if [73] anything goes wrong, the welder is naturally at fault. ”

“ Welding is the art, practiced immemorially, of uniting two pieces of metal in one piece by heating those portions which are to be welded to a temperature at which they become plastic and then pressing them strongly together so as to effect a union, as exemplified by a blacksmith when heating in a forge the two pieces to be welded and hammering them together. ”

“ Some welders find that hard spots develop in their welds which they have difficulty in overcoming, and it is a very serious handicap when the weld is to be machined, for ofttimes it will break very expensive tools and leave a portion of a drill or die broken off in the metal. ”

“ The process may be carried out by hand, the welding smith switching the current on and off, and applying pressure at the right moment by means of hydraulic power. There are also automatic welders, which perform the same operations without requiring any manual control. ”

“ All precautions should be taken to see that no sudden jarring is given the piece until the weld has completely set. When this work is done many welders plunge their work in water, in an effort to make it more ductile and easier to machine. ”

“ The ease with which aluminum is puddled together, which many welders have likened to the children’s method of making mud pies, seems so simple to the beginner that he cannot see where the strength comes from when cooled. On account of this, he invariably works his aluminum too long. After welding a few test bars of this metal and breaking them in the line of weld, many old welders will gain confidence upon seeing the results of their own efforts. ”

“ In order to know how to weld, it is quite imperative that the operator first know the kind of metal he is to work on. It is surprising to find how few welders know their metals thoroughly. An incident might be cited where some welders depend upon the sparks given off by the emery wheel in determining the kind of metal they are about to weld. They will approach the wheel; grind off their work, noting the sparks; return to their welding table; choose their filler rods and do their welding without any delay whatsoever, much to the consternation of their fellow workers. ”

“ The setting up of the work, when preheating, is an important point overlooked by many welders, especially so in the case of aluminum. Care should be taken to see that the [57] work has a good solid setting and is braced at a sufficient number of points, to prevent its sagging when in a preheated condition. Many times when working on rough surfaces, a few firebricks distributed around the bottom of the oven with a dab of putty, clay, or retort cement, placed upon them, will form an excellent cushion upon which the work can rest and the operator may feel confident that no sagging will occur. ”

“ The broad-browed oxen guided by the ancient goad draw the old wooden plough over the slopes of the Downs, though the telegraph wires are in sight. You may see men sowing broadcast just as they did a thousand years ago on the broad English acres. Yet the light iron plough, and the heavy drill with its four horses, the steam-plough, winnowing machines, root-pulpers, are manufactured and cast out into the fields, and machinery, machinery, machinery, still increases. ”

“ A blacksmith forge will be the medium of saving much valuable gas and time in a welding shop. It will heat up parts to be welded in very short order and while in this condition they may be welded and then thrown back into the forge and allowed to cool very slowly.
(46) Several pails of water should always be located where welding is being done to prevent fire from flying sparks; to cool the torch tips and filler-rods, when working on large jobs; to keep certain parts of work being welded cool, and to harden or temper other parts. ”

“ In manufacturing large anvils two hearths are needed, in order to bring each of the two pieces to be welded, to a proper heat by itself; and several men are employed in working them together briskly in the welding state, by heavy swing hammers. The steel facing is applied by welding in the same manner. The anvil is then hardened by heating it to a cherry red, and plunging it into cold water; a running stream being preferable to a pool or cistern. The facing should not be too thick a plate, for, when such, it is apt to crack in the hardening. ”

“ Wedges Wood Are made out of Beech or Elm for splitting Wood, or to be put between the Wrain Staves and Ships Sides for setting too of Planks, and for barring in of Ports, &c. Weighing Is drawing up an Anchor out of the Ground, in order to set Sail. Welding When the Smiths give their Iron a proper Heat in the Forge, in order to double up the same when wanted to weld a Work in the Doublings, so as to be in one Piece thick enough for the Purpose it is wanted for. Well A square Place, parted off and planked round the Main-mast from the Gundeck down to the Foot-waaling, to keep the Ballast, &c. ”

“ There the logs are gathered into booms and towed by steamers to the mills, where workmen with steel spikes in their boots leap lightly with easy poise from one to another and by means of long pike poles push them apart and, selecting such as are at the time required, push them to the foot of a chute and drive dogs into the ends, when they are speedily hauled in by the mill machinery alongside the saw carriage and placed and fixed in position. ”

“ Welding two pieces of iron is at the same time very simple in theory and very difficult in fact. At the proper heat the two pieces placed firmly face to face will—if the faces are clean—stick together without further ado. But accomplishing this feat requires great skill with the fire and great quickness with the hammer so that scale will not form on the surfaces to be welded. Normally the weld is hammered together on the anvil to refine the grain of the metal as it cools.
Another farrier’s shop, no doubt drawn on the spot with tools and equipment just as they were seen by the artist. ”

“ The flux produces with the oxide a fluid slag which is squeezed out at the instant of making the weld. The commonest fluxes are sand, used chiefly with wrought iron, and borax, used with steel; they are dusted over the joint faces both while in the fire and on the anvil. Mechanical cleanliness is ensured by healing the ends in a clean hollow fire previously prepared, and in brushing off any adherent particles of fuel before closing the weld. ”

“ It requires some practice to be able to take two pieces from the fire and place them in position on the anvil to be welded. This should be practiced by the pupil under the eye of the teacher, perhaps a dozen or more times, with the cold pieces before he undertakes to get the welding heat. If one cannot take the pieces out and place them in position, he cannot make a weld of this kind. ”

“ In welding, the heat is taken directly on the end of the lap and not on the sides, so as not to burn the stock above the laps. When the link has the welding heat, it is taken to the anvil and hammered on the flat sides, then set on the horn of the anvil, and hammered on the corners. ”

“ The preface says further, “The workman who can successfully weld all automobile parts is capable of welding anything, since in the construction of the automobile practically every commercial metal is used. The principles of automobile welding are applicable to all kinds of welding.” Contents: Apparatus knowledge; Shop equipment and initial procedure; Cast iron; Aluminum; Steel; Malleable iron, copper, brass, bronze; Carbon burning and other uses of oxygen and acetylene; How to figure cost of welding. ”

“ If the pieces are at all irregular in shape, the motions should be gone through with before the metal is heated and the best positions on the anvil as well as in the fire determined with regard to the convenience of the workman and speed of handling the work after being brought to a welding temperature. Unnatural positions at the anvil should be avoided as good work is most difficult of performance under these conditions. ”

“ The amateur who can not afford an expensive plant and a first-class drilling machine, can get along very well with a Millers' Falls hand-drill and a good assortment of first-class steel drills to fit it. I once saw an old German anatomist mount a cow skeleton for a Western college with hardly more tools than I could hold in one hand—but, of course, that skeleton was not mounted à la Lucas, by a considerable difference. ”

“ Begin to forge as soon as the welds are put together, taking Page 160 care to use gentle strokes at first increasing them as the higher heat falls, but not overdoing the hammering when the steel cools. The hammering should be extended beyond the welding point and should continue until the dull red or brown heat is reached.
PREVENTING CRACKS IN HARDENING The blacksmith in the small shop, where equipment is usually very limited, often consisting of a forge, a small open hard-coal furnace, a barrel of water and a can of oil must have skill and experience. ”